John Kerry to Russia: Ukraine conflict isn't 'Rocky IV'

Secretary of State John Kerry says Russia should not see the protests in Ukraine as another Cold War battle, invoking a Sylvester Stallone movie from the 1980s to underscore his point.

“We’re hoping that Russia will not see this as a sort of a continuation of the Cold War,” Kerry told Andrea Mitchell during an interview on her MSNBC show, Mitchell Reports. “We do not believe this should be an East-West, Russia-United States (battle). This is not Rocky IV, believe me. We don’t see it that way.”

In Rocky IV, Stallone as Rocky Balboa travels to Russia to take on Ivan Drago in the boxing ring to avenge the death of Apollo Creed. Here’a clip from the epic Rocky vs. Drago fight.

On a more serious note, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to undergo readiness drills as a show of force near the Ukraine border just days after Viktor Yanukovich — a Russian ally — was overthrown as Ukraine president.